1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp that is capable of causing light from a semiconductor-type light source to be incident to a lens, illuminating the incident light from the lens forward of a vehicle, as a predetermined light distribution pattern, and switching the light distribution pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle headlamp of such type is conventionally known (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-212089). Hereinafter, the conventional vehicle headlamp will be described.
A conventional vehicle headlamp is provided with a semiconductor light emitting element, a projection lens, a light guide, a bracket (a heat sink) at which the semiconductor light emitting element is disposed, a movable light shading member, and an actuator configured to move the movable light shading member. In addition, the conventional vehicle headlamp is provided in such a manner that when the movable light shading member is positioned in a non-shading location, light from the semiconductor light emitting element are respectively incident to the projection lens and the light guide, from the projection lens the incident light is illuminated forward of a vehicle, as a light distribution pattern for side zone, and from the light guide the incident light is illuminated forward of the vehicle, as a light distribution pattern for center zone. Alternatively, when the movable light shading member is positioned in a shading location, the light that is incident from the semiconductor light emitting element to the light guide is shaded by means of the movable light shading member; and therefore, from the projection lens, only the light distribution pattern for side size is illuminated forward of the vehicle. In this manner, a light distribution pattern for high beam and a light distribution pattern for split high beam (a light distribution pattern for two-split high beam) can be obtained.
However, the conventional vehicle headlamp is provided in such a manner that outside of a bracket that is formed in a substantially columnar shape, a cylindrically shaped movable light shading member is arranged in such a manner as to be coaxially movable, thus making it difficult to reduce a lamp unit in size.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above described problem that it is difficult to reduce the lamp unit in size.